Secret
by Vinceypoo
Summary: The Cullens live a lie - reliant on their secrets to live a seemingly human existence, everything comes crashing down when Edward finds someone else who is hiding where he least expects it. EdwardxOC, SLASH, Not a MarySue HEA story. Rated M for Language
1. Eyes

_So this is a re-write of an already published story. For those of you who have already read the original "Secrets," there will be dozens, some very significant, plot changes._

_For those of you who haven't...A story between Edward and OC-Nathan. This is what happens when the Cullen clan is faced with an immortal where they would least expect it. Both Edward and Nathan have secrets - this is a story of what happens when the two cross paths. Edward and the Cullens learn quickly that Vampires and Werewolves aren't the only things that go bump in the night; all they can do is hope they're still highest on the food-chain. _

_ Plenty of Love, angst, and magic to go around :) Please RxR!_

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**Edward**

Another day. Another sluggish day of high school. The same menial lessons, same petty thoughts, and the same shrill from Mrs. Goff's voice. In a way it was a slight comfort; I was able to think and get away from the thoughts of my family. That isn't saying that I relished hearing the trite ramblings from the students of Forks High School. ] Endless dramas of who liked who, who was wearing what, or other meaningless anxieties. I sat in quiet contemplation during Spanish class; Mrs. Goff had a tendency to let me relax unbothered, she knew my Spanish was better than her's anyway.

I let her voice fade into the background as students' thoughts raced through my mind. Most of it was the same boring nonsense. Part of the responsibility to my family was to ensure that there were no suspicions of us amongst the students and teachers here. It was a task that I did not enjoy, but seemed avoidable none-the-less. I had noticed today there was buzz about a new student. It was almost sad how much this excited the majority of the students; Even the teachers were caught gossiping about this small piece of news. Nathan Aldan… Most of the girls seemed utterly infatuated him at this point, but I couldn't help but be relieved from their distraction. I couldn't find out much more than this except that he was an exchange student from Hong Kong.

As absolutely stimulating as these pre-pubescent girl's thoughts were, my books were prepared and I was out the door as the bell rang loudly throughout the school. Both Emmett and I walked toward the cafeteria having another one-sided conversation.

"_Lets skip on Friday and go early. Its bear season" _thought Emmett

I nodded. Despite the fact he was nearly eighty years old, Emmett still acted like a child sometimes. I didn't need to be able to read his thoughts to know how excited he was, Emmett always looked forward to this time of the year. Bear blood was a nice change, less bitter than the standard elk we hunted.

Emmett and I went to sit at our usual table, Jasper and Alice were already sitting down when we got there; Rosalie coming only moments later. She took Emmett's hand in hers and they smiled at each other. I tried my best to keep out of their thoughts regardless of how loud they were. Alice greeted me with a smile and thought _"Today has been weird, everything is a bit…Fuzzy. I don't like it."_ She thought with a small pout on her face. I ignored her, it felt too tiresome to even respond. I tried to nibble on a carrot in front of me in order to maintain a nonchalant and very _human_ image, but this was one of those times when it seemed to take ages to get through a single day.

The mundane task of sitting in the cafeteria seemed to change as an uproar of thoughts began to manifest themselves. All of them were centered on one person, Nathan Aldan. I couldn't help but look and see for myself the person that had made so many girls, and even some boys, swoon in his direction. He was shockingly ordinary in every way. He stood around 5'9 with a plain brown hair that was just short of covering his eyes, he wasn't particularly big or skinny. He did however carry himself in a certain manner that instantly separated him from most of Forks; there was a silent confidence in the way he moved.

He'd been ushered to sit down by Mike Newton, a gesture that seemed kind on the surface. Although with further prying it became apparent the jealousy that Mike was to harbor for him. Jessica Stanley was absolutely oozing over him, she was already making her plans to ask him to the dance coming up. The entire table seemed to be giving him their undivided attention while he sat down, somewhat awkwardly, and picked at some of French fries while answering the question after question.

"How long was the flight here?" Angela asked with genuine curiosity. I liked seeing things from her perspective; her mind was a pleasant place to be.

"Umm…" Nathan scratched his head while he thought "About 17 hours." There were a couple of gasps, not all of them genuine. Jessica seemed a little more eager to please him, to the point it came off as false. I followed their conversation for lack of anything else to do. It took me a moment, but I realized I hadn't heard this boy's thoughts. I focused on him but heard nothing but faint whispers, as if it was a muffled voice behind a door. There were bits and pieces but nothing remotely recognizable. This had never happened to me before – I most certainly didn't know how to react to it. I didn't even notice I'd been staring in the boy's direction for at least a minute or two until Mike Newton, asking no one in particular "Why is Cullen staring over here?"

Nathan seemed a bit confused at first, but eventually looked where the rest of the table had turned to. I looked into his eyes for the briefest of moments, a small part of me had hopes to cure that faint buzzing when I had connected with his eyes. Although my wish was not fulfilled, I found myself faced with something unexpected

Those green eyes of his were not green at all. Green would not simply do them justice. There to be several different colors to them, a deep a golden shade much more intense than my own, a jade green, followed by a strong iridescent forest green. All three shades of such pure luminosity contacts were out of the question. I was in awe of what I was seeing, and I only had a couple of second to experience it before he looked away looking slightly flustered. How had I not seen that originally? How can everyone at the table be sitting with him and not think of the abnormal eyes this boy had?

"_What was that all about? You stared at that boy for 2 and a half minutes."_ Alice questioned me through her thoughts. I knew I wasn't going to be able to maneuver through this situation without some sort of fight, so I settled for at least half of the story, for now. I spoke in a tone so low and fast the humans around us wouldn't have been able to hear, even if they cared enough to listen, which I doubt they did.

"I can't hear his thoughts." I admitted.

That seemed to get the attention from most of them, all of a sudden I felt as though I was being interrogated. It wasn't aggressive, but they were overly curious. I found the entire topic irritating, a constant reminder of my inability. The group of them had began to talk amongst themselves while I was drowned in my own thought. Since I wasn't able to use my secondary hearing I chose to listen to the table from my seat. I felt weak being so interested in a human simply because I couldn't read his thoughts. It was like a child wanting candy simply because they couldn't have it.

"Cullen, is that his name?" Nathan asked in a curious tone. Through my peripherals I noticed him looking at our table occasionally but I didn't dare look again the rest of the hour. I listened to the jaded explanations of our family that Mike Newton and Jessica had offered. Normally it may have brought a slight grin to my face, but at this point I found myself obsessing over the fact I didn't know what he was thinking. Did he believe them? Or was he just humoring their insecurities? He never returned any judgments when they called me a 'freak' or Alice weird, he simply nodded and went back to his meal uncomfortably.

I found a small part of me saddened when the lunch hour came to an abrupt end. I was equally disgusted with myself that I had been interested by the idea of eavesdropping on these humans. Not a day ago I had found the act to be an entirely bothersome and draining experience. The five of us got up heading to our respective classes, Alice looked at me and thought "_Be careful in Biology."_ I didn't really know what she had meant by this. Later this week we were blood typing, but today seemed perfectly harmless. Whatever it was, it couldn't be too dangerous or she would have warned me to skip class.

After making my way into Biology and sitting at my usual table I already knew what we were doing for today's lab. As usual, I was alone. Everyone had picked a table away from me, which wasn't surprising as were bound to feel uncomfortable sitting in such a close proximity. I much preferred it this way, although it became apparent only seconds later that I would no longer have this table to myself. The new guy, Nathan, came into the classroom staring at a piece of paper that I assumed had the classroom number on it. After getting it signed and receiving his textbook the teacher, he was ushered toward the table I sat in. I could hear several girl's sighs of disappointment as he took his seat next to me.

After taking his seat I could feel the slight movement of air around him from the movement. Suddenly my entire body was on fire, It felt as though I had ran into an open flame. The thirst consumed me entirely. I could feel this boy's pulse on the tip of my tongue while I stiffened up from the pain; unable to focus on anything but this new scent. It was not something human, it couldn't possibly be. I glared at him, feeling the firey emotion protruding from my eyes. I was no longer thinking rationally, the monster had taken over. I could kill everyone in the room in less than 20 seconds, no one would even have the time to react. Once everyone was dead…I would have that blood all to myself. It would be a feast, the thought of his blood rolling down my throat to cure this fire that had enveloped my entire body excited me in more ways than one. Eighteen humans seemed a small price to pay for such a bounty.

I balled my hands into fists, focusing all of my rage toward this one human. Time passed so slowly I was sure that there was no way I would be able to last these 55 minutes. Trying to focus, I thought about my family. Of course they would forgive me, but I didn't want them to have to uproot themselves once again; we were just getting used to Forks again, but everything seemed insignificant compared to the taste of his blood. The boy looked over to me – blinking in slight confusion. He must have seen how close I was to killing him, being so close to a murderous frenzy of course it would have shown through my eyes. I did notice that his abnormally colored eyes were back to their previous plain green. His eyes were the least of my worries at this point. Nathan just stared for a moment, confused I thought, or maybe just frustrated. He just turned his attention back to the lecture. The boy seemed oddly absorbed in the notes he was taking from this very dry lecture on osmosis; he careful not to look again at me for the rest of the period.

After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang and I was out of my seat, fighting my every instinct as I quite literally ran away from the boy.


	2. Meeting

**Nathan**

_Life in Forks was exactly as I had imagined it. Dull, repetitive, and incredibly wet. It felt as though Forks was everything that Hong Kong was not. While that would have been perfect for someone who wanted to avoid the incessant noise pollution, large crowds, and bright lights, those were things I had come to accept and love about my home. I was now confronted with a dreary excuse for a town; if you could even call it that. Maybe time would change my opinions on this place, but that seemed to be growing increasingly unlikely with each passing day._

I woke up with a gasp when I glanced at the clock and it was definitely _not_ ringing. The bright red numbers blinked 8:15. I could do this, I had ten minutes to get dressed, have everything prepared for class, and drive to school. Possible. Although I knew it wouldn't likely to happen that way. Running around the house as fast as I could, grabbing and slipping on anything that even resembled clothing, it must have sounded as if there was a hurricane passing through the house. After shoving my papers into my backpack, I couldn't help but rush to the bathroom and finish the rest of my morning chores.

While this routine did consist of the average brushing my teeth, washing my face, and fixing any other vain details that were off; there were some extra tasks I needed to add onto my list. Staring into the mirror, a pair of gold and green eyes greeted me. My eyes had three different irises that blended together fluidly in a melting of color. I couldn't help but sigh. Since I had left Hong Kong, there was no avoiding this fate. Before at home I was able to be myself in my own house. That was a luxury I could no longer afford.

These eyes of mine were not human at all. Down my family tree, beginning with my mother, my grandmother, a human, had two children with a _Sidhe_ (Prounounced SHE). That was the proper term, although I think most humans would probably use the term faerie. With every generation the blood got weaker and weaker, so I am some sort of diluted form of a freak. I have no siblings with whom I could discuss this bizarre connection, and it was typically taboo with my mother who carried the same blood in her veins. I'm not sure what its like for people who are closely linked with their heritage since my mother avoided any discussion of it. The only time it was brought up was the subject of hiding our uniqueness. Other than my eyes – my hair was also very unnatural. I suppose you could call it brown, but my mother described it as amber with splashes of honey. There was no doubt that I could have kept my natural coloring and just credited some top salon, but I tried to avoid the spotlight when I could. I hated lying, so I tried to give people very few reasons to question me. This is why I had to go through such a daily ritual. Especially in a place like Forks it was vital to my survival that I remain as ordinary as possible.

Closing my eyes, I sighed, concentrating on the subtle changes I was about to put my body through. In my head there was an image of me – a different me- everything that was extraordinary was dumbed down into an ideal sort of mediocrity. Opening them, I watched as all of my features became less pronounced. The best way I could describe myself once the golden irises had turned into a pale green, my amber colored hair a dull brown, and gave my skin the smallest splash of color to avoid the moonlit glow of my skin. The changes were incredibly subtle, it was like watching a flower bloom, You could always see the changes day after day yet you were never quite able to catch the stem actually moving. I could maintain this façade indefinitely as long as I continued just the slightest bit of concentration. It was like people who choose to suck in their belly every moment of the way – except I was sucking in a bizarre, otherworldly belly day after day.

I never slipped up. Never lost my concentration, only once had it happened. Of course it happened in this small little town where I was certain secrets were impossible to keep once one had escaped. When Edward Cullen and I made eye contact. Everything seemed to disappear in that one moment that I hadn't even realized I lost control. His expression was blank as he stared at me. Eventually I decided to look away and not risk a second encounter, no matter how badly I desire to look in his direction. If he had noticed, which he probably hadn't, most humans would talk about it. Or at the very least seek out a second encounter. He did neither of these that I had noticed, instead Edward Cullen reacted differently than I would have ever expected.

He looked at me as though I had done something imaginable to him. There was such an intense hatred in his eyes it made me incredibly uncomfortable. I'm not sure why…The only logical reason was that he was furious about when he saw my eyes. Did he think I was an alien or something? Probably for the best – I suppose. Surely he would be too embarrassed to spread this theory amongst the students at the school. With a great sigh at my mediocre image – I toward my car, my socks slipping on the hard wood floors. I only slid once on our freshly waxed hard wood floors, however somehow managed to catch myself before reaching the level of disaster.

This experience of being a foreign exchange student had been forced upon me as a practice in living amongst humans, as a human. For that reason multiple steps were taken to ensure I appeared to be just like any other student in Forks – ranging from the clothes I wore to the car I drove. I'd been given a black Saturn Ion for the duration of my stay. I've been getting used to driving everywhere rather than public transportation. I expected to dislike this change, however it was a welcome one. There is a new sort of freedom being separated from the schedule that is mass-transit. While driving (much faster than I should have been) I found myself conflicted. Part of me hoped desperately that Edward Cullen would _not_ be in biology for the 2nd day in a row, however, I wanted to see if he acted differently toward me today. If I didn't know myself better, I would have planned to call him out on his rudeness. I laughed at the thought. Edward's murderous glare as I desperately tried to see what was wrong, yea…that most certainly was not going to happen.

Once I pulled into the parking-lot I noticed everyone had already gone in. Shit. Glancing at my cell phone I was already late. I groaned miserably, this was not a good impression to make. It felt like I was still being judged by most of my teachers, I knew they had expected some entitled rich brat. I'd done my best to abolish this notion – at this point all I wanted was to fall under the spotlight.

I quietly opened the door to my English class and made several small bows out of habit before I had a moment to realize where I was, and what I was doing. Both the teacher and most of the students just stared at me for a couple of seconds and began laughing quietly. By now I had no doubt my ears and cheeks had began to flush as I fought with myself to suppress it so no one would see. I could still feel the warmth in my cheeks but was relatively confident I had hidden it effectively. The class went by glacially slow. Jessica Stanley was still making passes at regardless of how oblivious I had acted. All I could do was hope she would give up eventually.

I chose my seat next to Eric, he seemed like a nice guy. I hadn't met many people who seemed cool so far, all they saw me as was a student from Hong Kong; one of the most exciting things to happen to Forks High School in years. I hadn't decided if he was just like the rest – but he seemed excited at the aspect of being able to speak Cantonese. I couldn't really blame him, Forks was quite the homogenous town. I doubt he ever spoke it since he said his parents preferred to speak English. People would give me weird stares when I spoke Chinese was an undeniable downfall of doing this, so I'd resorted to speaking it quietly when Eric and I chatted; or if I was feeling particularly embarrassed, replying in English. It was comfortable knowing everyone wouldn't be listening to my every word.

Time passed slowly the rest of the day too. Funny how time passed so terribly slow when you had a destination at hand. My destination was to see if Edward Cullen was here today. Sure, there were plenty of distractions. Actually a little _too_ many distractions. I felt like whenever I had a chance to relax my thoughts there would be a face infront of me eagerly asking questions. It was incredibly draining, I found myself wanting to take a nap half way through the day. However, half way point was good. I walked over to the cafeteria while talking with Eric feeling that hope in the bottom of my chest. Why was I so excited to see someone who obviously hated me? I wasn't excited! Just curious, yea, curious. I shrugged off the thought and scanned the lunch table where the Cullens sat.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw him. It took me a moment before I noticed Eric was still talking "Dude, what's up?" he must have noticed I had stopped. Out of instinct I stopped looking toward the Cullens and turned to Eric with a tired expression while I scratched my head "Oh. Uh, I'm just starving. I'm gonna go get some food now, later." I waved while heading off toward the food line using all of my willpower to avoid looking toward the Cullen's table. I tapped my foot anxiously; impatient with the slow moving line. I could look over my shoulder casually and no one would notice, right? It took a little more convincing before I finally looked over my shoulder first to the table with Eric, Angela, Jessica, and Mike making a slow and careful transition to the Cullens. Who to my absolute horror, were all staring in my direction in the midst of what I thought was a terribly clever move. I immediately turned my head infront of me, my mouth gaping open in embarrassment. "oh my god." Repeated over and over in my head.

All I got was a salad and orange juice. I didn't even want the salad at this point; my stomach was feeling a bit queasy. Eric and Mike were fighting over something that seemed a little trivial and stupid. What brand of hiking boots were best or something. I don't know, I tried to remain as absorbed in my salad as I could without eating it. Angela poked my shoulder in a friendly way to get my attention and asked

"How are you adjusting?" her voice had a reassuring tone to it.

"Uhm, everything is really. A bit of culture shock…I bowed when I entered English class today." I said in an embarrassed tone.

"Oh jeez" she said with laughter in her tone. "I'm sure that was a fun experience for you."

"Just a little mortifying, that's all." I joked – taking a swig of my orange juice, I couldn't help but notice _everything_ tasted different in America. Not better or worse, just different.

"Hey, we're all going to Bob's tonight, want to come?" I was beginning to realize I really liked Angela. She was a genuinely kind person and had probably helped this transition into small-town life much easier. The big question was…Who was Bob? I looked around the table to see if there was someone I hadn't noticed.

"Uh….Who's bob?" I asked ignorantly.

Both Jessica and Mike laughed and then quickly replied "Its not a person…It's a restaurant."

Obviously embarrassed I just nodded and said "Sure" quietly.

The rest of them talked about plans for the fall dance that was coming up. They called it a 'Turn a bout' which meant that it was the girl's turns to ask the guys to the dance. So the girls did not normally ask men to the dance then? The thought made my skin crawl. It was only a matter of time before someone asked me. It felt arrogant and narcissistic to think in such a way, but I was simply being realistic. I knew I was the prize for no other reason than I was the new student at Forks High School. Thinking like that bothered me. Avoiding the topic I couldn't help but drift to the Cullens which had become my recent obsession. One in particular, although I didn't dare think of him and risk the desire to look and see what they were doing.

I decided to skip Biology, sure I could face Edward Cullen, of whom I'd been obsessing over since our initial encounter, or I could sit in my car and listen to music. Coward, who? Me? I'd also heard word of a blood-typing which was a something risky; my sidhe blood didn't work out too well in human blood-work. I can only be grateful that I haven't had to go to the hospital or heaven forbid need a blood transfusion for any reason. Yes, that would be a very bad situation. An arguably bigger problem was I didn't know where to go. There was literally nowhere to escape from people in Forks, nowhere that I could go without being noticed from someone. Unknown faces are so rare here I draw just about as much attention, if not more, than someone who was known by everyone in town.

I shrugged and got up from my seat and waved to everyone with a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes "See you." As I placed my tray in its allotted place and walked toward the parking lot.

A small part of me was afraid that a teacher or the principal would reprimand me as I left the building, but my worries were in vain. I was in my car in less than five minutes. The weather was pretty typical for Forks, must have been around 50 degrees with a light drizzle. The sun seemed to be teasing us, peeking out for only seconds at a time. Really though, the rain didn't bother me. I enjoyed overcast, and found that part of Forks to be a relief. Sitting in a car with no destination, let alone _movement_ was frustrating to me. My hands played idly with the CD rack on top of my visor until I picked out a CD from Reflector; a Chinese punkish rock band. Greenday reminded me a lot of them.

I closed my eyes and let the music relax me as if I was back home. In Hong Kong where there were no cultural faux-pas, small town atmospheres, or unnaturally attractive and mysterious men staring at me. The music buzzed quietly, barely loud enough to drown out the sound of the drizzling rain. I was finally reaching a point of peace when a tapping against my window made me jump and stare alarmingly out my window. I'm not sure which was scarier, the sound which had made me jump, or the fact that it was Edward Cullen tapping on my window. Definitely the latter.

My pulse sped up as I sat there nervously uncertain of what to do. Didn't he hate me? Why was he here right now, maybe I was getting in trouble for skipping class. Rolling down the window I looked at him with suspicious eyes until I finally said "Yea?"

My infatuation quickly moved to irritation as I remember the glare he was shooting at me the other day. I should have given him the benefit of the doubt but I wasn't feeling particularly generous. Then he smiled, his golden eyes looking at me with an amused expression. "You should come over here." He motioned innocently toward a silver Volvo that I already knew was his. I couldn't help but be initially suspicious, but decided that it would be better to just go along with it. This was what every girl and child was warned not to do. Sexual predators much?

Well, I wasn't a girl or a child, and I also wasn't human, and could most definitely protect myself from whatever Edward Cullen was willing to throw at me. Maybe then my questions would be answered. He seemed surprised when I turned my car off and walked toward him and his car without any more interrogation. He had already entered his car without another word, I continued behind him without another word. He opened my car door just slightly as an indication for me to get in.

My first thought was _Nice car_. After sitting down and taking in all of the features inside I looked toward Edward with a confused expression. He seemed to take this as his cue to speak, at that point I hadn't realized I'd never heard his voice before.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen." He said while maintaining a perfectly neutral face.

"Uh…" I was speechless. All of this to introduce himself? It seemed like a bit much.

"I'm Nate." Was all I said, probably best to keep it simple at this point.

"Sorry for my behavior the other day…I was very tired and uh…In a bit of a mood…" Edward explained. A mood was putting it very lightly.

"Its okay." I noticed his body had gone rigid like the other day. Although he didn't look quite as murderous as last time he seemed to be hiding some sort of pain. He didn't do it very well. "So what's up?

"Just looking forward to getting to know the "new guy" he said in a casual tone as he put the keys in the ignition and turned on the car. Before I knew it we were pulling out of the parking lot. Where the hell were we going? Paranoid, me?

"Where are we going? I have class." I said trying desperately to keep my frantic mood from showing in my voice. I must not have succeeded in this task, since his lips curled into a curt smile.

"Weren't you just skipping class?" He looked me in the eyes when he spoke. While driving. If I wasn't going to have a heart attack from this entire experience it would be a great surprise to me. But, he did have a point. So I just shrugged it off.

"Where are we going, then? And why are you doing this?"

"You'll see. We'll be there soon. And…I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing this. I find you to be a very confusing individual; I'm trying to make sense of you."

I laughed. Probably not the most tactful thing to do. But was he entirely delusional? I didn't even have a chance to finish my thought before he asked "What's funny?" seemingly genuinely curious I decided to answer truthfully.

"Honestly this all seems a bit bizarre. Most people don't take strangers they've never met on joy rides."

"I suppose you're right." Edward chuckled to himself before beginning with the questions "So why did you move here to Forks? It isn't a very…known city, to say the least."

"It's a long story."

"I have time" he said with a grin.

"You know 'It's a long story' is code for 'I don't want to talk about it' right?" I said to him in a joking tone, except that I was being somewhat serious. Maybe I could avoid this entire conversation. His mouth moved in an impatient smirk as he looked at me with pleading eyes. What the hell was going on here? I sighed which was apparently a sign of defeat because he turned back facing the road with a smug grin on his face.

This was always a difficult question to answer. Unlike humans, the Sidhe never lie. Despite my mixed blood I still never dared utter a straight-faced lie; but it was half-truths that made the Sidhe so adept at avoiding the truth. I'd mastered this skill early on out of mere survival, and had every intention of employing it during this conversation.

"My mother felt the need for me to experience the world outside of Hong Kong; but she isn't able to leave herself because of work." There, that was kind of true.

"So why Forks?" Edward asked – giving me only a moment's breath.

I shrugged, "Does it matter?"

Edward grinned, still giving me his undivided attention "It must be tiresome living with a host family."

"I guess. I don't like living with a stranger, but it is what it is."

I didn't like talking about my family. I also had the feeling that Edward would continue to ask my questions until there was some sort of distraction. Through the car conversation I couldn't help but notice the color of his eyes. In fact, his entire family seemed to have this bizarre golden tint in their irises. The thought made my imagination race – especially since weren't they all adopted from different families? Was he one of my kind? Maybe this is why I found myself so mesmerized by him. The thought was more exciting to me than anything I could have imagined, maybe I wouldn't be alone on this journey. It seemed almost unbearable with the option of telling someone.

"Your eyes are a really interesting color. I've never seen them that shade." I remarked, working hard to maintain a casual tone of voice even though I was fishing. He was quiet for a moment before finally answering me.

"Its not my natural color, they're contacts."

"Oh wow. The rest of your family uses the same colored contacts too?" I was pushing it now. If he was one of my kind he would start to feel cornered – and who knew how he would react. If he wasn't, I was pressing the topic too far anyway.

"Yes." Was the only answer he supplied me. I had pushed too far. The silence would probably bother him more than it bothered me so I chose to keep quiet and enjoy the scenery. It would be better if he chose the topics. Also, _where on earth were we going?_ We had been driving for at least twenty minutes at this point. I noticed his hands were clinging to the driving wheel as if he were afraid to let go. There it was again, the burning desire to turn from the window and look into his face. This time I would fight it, nothing good ever came from looking over.

"_You_ have weird eyes. Who has a three-colored iris?" he said in an irritated tone. He had seen my eyes. It couldn't have been long, the light was playing with his eyes. Yes, that's what I would say.

"Three colors? What colors were they?" I laughed casually, trying with all my being for it to not sound forced. Even my own thoughts were confusing me these days – I didn't have time to deal with that at this second though, Edward would need to be convinced first. Yea. That was the crisis at hand.

"Gold, and two different shades of green." His voice didn't sound as certain as it had just a moment ago. This was good, crisis diverted.

"It must have just been the light." I said. "The lights in that school are dismal. I look like the undead whenever I see myself in the mirror" I joked.

Edward seemed to find this joke more amusing than I thought he would. Point for me. I noticed he wouldn't look me in the eye anymore; suddenly focused the road. Had I hit the target? Or maybe he was afraid of seeing my eyes. It would be for the best if he was afraid, the less I had to hide the closer I could get to him."Okay. Where are we going?" The wait was starting to bother me. We were definitely out of Forks at this point. I wasn't familiar enough with the area to have any idea of landmarks or points of interest, it was possible we were heading toward Seattle, but being kept in the dark was beginning to make me uncomfortable.

"It's a surprise." Edward said in a tone different before; his hands were gripping the steering wheel fiercely.

"I'd really like to know where, though." I pressed, feigning curiosity rather than the increasing anxiety that was beginning to build up in my gut.

"Relax" Edward said, flashing me a charming smile. It wasn't the charming smile that grabbed my intention though, rather, the darkness hidden within his eyes chilled me to the core.

"I'm relaxed, just want to know what this is all about" I said in a well-acted voice.

"Don't worry about it – We'll be there soon" He assured me.

As he spoke I reached out to him – not with my body – but with an energy that was a part of me. It was as easy as breathing, allowing part of myself to cover and coat Edward while he spoke; his eyes flicked nervously for a moment once it made contact, but quickly recovered.

I was Sidhe – a Sidhe of a certain flavor – I could feel and provoke the most innate desires of all beings. My ancestors were worshipped as fertility deities in the past, and had been kind of enough to pass along some abilities onto my mother and I.

With much practice I masked my face from all emotion, even as images of Edward with my bloody corpse invaded my mind. It wasn't the murderous intent that fluttered through me, but something innately sexual about the process – These were his desires. This is what Edward wanted, _with me_.

"Edward, stop the car." I said with a seriousness that just bordered human.

My question was met with silence - am I going to die by the hands of Edward Cullen?


	3. Assault

_Sorry for the really short chapter guys! I really wanted this to be more of a stand alone chapter because of the content and just for the flow. I'm curious what people are thinking of the different perspectives between Edward and Nathan - I'm trying really hard that so that they both have their voice in this story. So if it seems like I'm focusing too much on one or the other let me know!_

_I'm *always* open to some sort of constructive criticism, since its easy to get caught up on your own story._

_Just a warning - some people may not care for this chapter because it lacks a certain amount of...fluff. But I think the content is pretty important for the story and the development of the relationship between Edward and Nathan. It also lets you all know what Nate is capable of. So if this isn't your cup of tea please wait it out we'll be getting back to the norm next chapter! :-)_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

**Edward**

The entirety of the ride was spent wanting to tear Nathan's throat out and gorge myself upon his blood. With every second passed my desire multiplied ten-fold; when I had initially decided to pick up the boy my intentions were ambiguous. I was, of course, aware of what the consequences of killing the boy were, but at that very moment I was more than willing to put my family through them. Anything to get what I wanted from Nathan.

"Edward, stop the car." Nathan commanded with no trace of fear in his voice.

However, his heart betrayed him. With each new question I could hear the increase is his pulse; the boy knew he was in danger. The fear excited me – even more was his perseverance of hiding it. However amidst all of this, with no a clear ambition of killing this boy, I could feel my foot pressing against the break and came to a complete stop. It wasn't something I _wanted_ to do but seemed to be an instinctual response.

Nathan, in a moment of temporary boldness put the car into park for me.

"I'm leaving." Nathan hissed, and grabbed the handle to leave the car but not before I grabbed his arm; fully prepared to begin my feeding in mere seconds. Before I was given the opportunity, a warmth from his began to tingle down my arm. The sensation made me gasp and let go of Nathan – it was mere seconds later that my entire body was covered in the prickling touches.

I allowed my instincts to take over – making eye contact with Nathan so I could see his reaction as I lunged at him, as I bled him dry. It was only then that my world slipped into those eyes; a molten pool of gold and green.

It was less than a minute before I came back to reality, sight, scent, and touch all returning too me within moments of each other.

There wasn't a sign of Nathan – I couldn't see or hear him, and there was virtually no scent to track. It was as if he was never there.

It was only after the third angry buzz from my handheld did I extent the effort of answering it. I didn't bother to check and see who was calling; it was going to be Alice.

"Hi." Was all she said – She knew I'd lured Nathan away, and was obvious prepared for the worst.

"I'm on my way home." I sighed.

"Okay. We're already making the preparations."

"No need…I don't think" I trailed off.

"I didn't see what happened, only that you took him away. Everything is alright then?" Alice asked, sounding significantly less worried.

"It's complicated. I'll be home soon." And immediately hung up; avoiding another onslaught of questions from my sister.

I drove home as fast as the Volvo would take me, managing 90 miles per hours for the majority of the ride. Everyone was already waiting for me, seated at the dining room table, and absolutely prepared for another one of our "family meetings" The last time we were forced into a meeting like this was because I had slipped up again. Fortunately this time that wouldn't be the case, however it seems like we were all faced with a far more serious threat.

Who or what was Nathan Aldan?

I wasn't about to be bothered with moving at a human's pace; within seconds I was inside and seated at the table with everyone else, their golden eyes looking me over with a clear anxiety.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked in a neutral voice, but he nor the rest of my family could hide their thoughts from me.

I told them all, in great and absolute detail, from my intention of bleeding the boy dry to the curious condition he had left me in before disappearing without a trace. Everyone, and Jasper especially, were concerned with my explanation of the events that had taken place. No one else had heard of anything remotely similar to the effect Nathan had placed over me, except for Jasper.

The second I mentioned the triple-coloured irises Jasper's thoughts shot at me with a violent flashback. I only saw fragments of the memory that he was carefully hiding from me with a blanket of hatred; the damage had been done though. My single glimpse was of a blonde woman so beautiful I couldn't help but gaze even at the memory – and then there they were, eyes baring an incredibly similarity to the ones I'd seen from Nathan.

"What is it Jasper?" I asked the necessary question.

"I've faced one of his kind before. Nearly 50 years ago the woman had slaughtered most of the Vampire covens in Texas within a month single handed. She was able to do things I hadn't thought possible…" Jasper trailed off.

Alice picked up where Jasper had left off, being the only other one knowing the story she felt a certain responsibility, even obligation to her family, to divulge the information.

"They never figured out exactly what she was, but she forced the vampires on one another, and not in the way immortal powers work either. It was aggressive, and incredibly effective. She would pick off the stragglers while everyone was fighting, but whoever came close enough to her was burnt to ashes with a single touch." Alice explained.

The sense of security we all felt plummeted after hearing her brief explanation, the ways to react to our situation echoed amongst everyone. Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Carlisle…my entire family all had different ways to respond to this affront, but they all came down to two choices.

Kill or Run.

Carlisle was about to speak but Jasper cut in with a voice so deadly, filled with pure undiluted hatred, "It needs to die."

**Nathan**

I was sandwiched between my covers to the point where I probably couldn't have moved even if the desire arose. I was exhausted after brewing about the events that occurred earlier today with Edward, so much so, I attempted to go to bed early to avoid thinking about it any longer.

Clearly, that plan wasn't working out very well.

I laid there in a dreamlike state – moments away from falling into the dream world. A world where there was no danger, no stress, and everything would be simple again. Alas, just as sleep began to take hold and I was more than prepared to enter a dream about bunnies and rainbows – there stood my mother.

Beautiful even to me, her golden blonde hair trailed down to her ankles in an effort elegance. We were embraced by the warmth of the rising sun, in which her sunsplashed skin reflected the light in a golden luminescence, as if there had been golden glitter sprayed upon her skin. However, the two were not even comparable.

She stood and looked down at me with Sidhe eyes that mirrored my own and brought me in to a warm hug. The warmth from my mother and the sun became one – we were beings of nature, at this very moment my mother, Eliziah, was the sun and I the moon. Our skin began to glow softly amidst the embrace.

"Someone is coming. Wake up. Wake up and fight." She whispered next to my ear in a way that was both sexual and motherly at the same time.

"Wake up."

I awoke with a fierce gasp, instinctively wiping the sweat from my brow. I sat there uncertain for a few moments while I replayed the events that just occurred in my dream. Had I been human, it would have been easily dismissed, but I was Sidhe as well, and these things were more or less commonplace.

There were some questions to consider though. The first question would have been _"Who_ _is coming?"_ but I was rather confident that was already answered. Edward Cullen was on his way to finish what he'd attempted the first time. Because I was confident in this face, there was very little concern on my part. I moved in a rehearsed and well practiced manner, making very little noise, making efficient use of my time, and most importantly, remaining calm.

It came down to one simple fact. He was human, and I was not.

I pulled out a violin case that had been stashed in my close, unlatched it, and took out your standard sawed-off shotgun. Of course I knew how to shoot, not that I really needed to aim as long as I was within ten feet with this firearm. There shouldn't be a need, but luck favors the prepared.

Certain precautions had been made when I had moved to forks, precautions such as the shotgun I was holding. But more importantly, a piece of Sidhe magic called _wards_. They'd been placed all over the premises of my host mother's house, who was conveniently away on a date with her current boyfriend. If someone entered the area of a ward wishing me harm would simply go elsewhere. A change of heart, fear, the reason varied from person to person. That's exactly why Sidhe magic can be so powerful, it's incredibly subtle in that one has no idea they are under the effect until it's usually too late.

I doubted Edward would get past my wards – but you never know.

This was not the time to worry myself with my illusions. Whoever was coming after me either already knew I Sidhe, or wouldn't likely survive the encounter regardless.

It sounds like I'm a murderous bastard, but I'm truly not much of a fighter. However, when you are like me, harboring such a powerful secret, there is a desperation to preserve this façade we put on. And right now, this pursuer would disrupt the human life that I so passionately wanted to live. I would kill for that life.

I had the shotgun loaded with extra ammo prepared in seconds. With a large "click" I shut the chamber anxiously before taking my post back on my bed. This was where it got tricky…

Looking at the shotgun, I visualized what it would feel like to hold a viola in my hand rather than this sawed off shotgun. I thought what it would look like, carrying this viola with care while sitting in my bed with the television on. The trick was to leave a small part of yourself with this thought so it became anchored in reality, so it visually became that to everyone, including myself. I couldn't explain it any more than that, was what I was doing magic? No idea, it was simply a part of me.

Both my mother and I believed our kind was given this ability so we could live amongst humans – now I was using it for violence…thinking that way made me feel more ashamed than I probably should have. However, I knew whoever came in right now would see an innocent high school student rather than a cold-blooded killer. I needed that sort of element of surprise.

I waited and waited. It took surprisingly long for it to occur to me to even look at the time. 2:45 am. I groaned, if I survived this encounter, I would be miserable at school tomorrow. But what if I didn't…?

The time passed glacially slow. I couldn't allow myself to be distracted by the television. A simple distraction would give my pursuer the opportunity they needed. Although I wasn't fully human, I was nearly as fragile one. Even with my mixed blood I was no match for a trained killer; human or otherwise.

There was no warning to my pursuers presence. This wasn't like the movies where a glass dropped, something tips over, or the dog starts barking. No warning at all, before my very eyes he was simply there. There was no time to react or to consider who stood in the doorway before me. I didn't need to aim at this range, I pulled the trigger letting the piles of buckshot soar in my target's direction without giving it a second's thought. The trigger let out a howling boom that could was probably heard up to a mile away; I had bigger problems right now.

Panic began to itch deep in my throat making me hold back the desire to scream for help. I stood from my seated position resuming a defensive stance. Both of my arms held the shotgun despite the raging urge to go and see if my shot had connected.

I cocked the shotgun to prepare for my next shot. Somehow the man disappeared, he should have taken a point blank shot, no one could move so fast after that attack. I glanced at the doorway where I had shot him in, there were stray bullets and wooden bits everywhere – but something very important was missing. There was no blood…

I heard a sound but had less than a second to react. A blow hit my chest knocking the wind from my body. The pain was indescribable; I was blinded and dazed by the sheer magnitude of it. I think I was sent flying _somewhere_ but couldn't make sense of it. All I heard was the crash from my body landing into a hard object. My finger had pulled the shotgun trigger out of pure instinct causing my ears to ring from the distress.

It took me a moment before I could see my attacker. It was only then that my entire body went into complete shock. The man, or maybe I should say the boy…was familiar. Very familiar, but it wasn't who I expected; it was Jasper Cullen. What was going on? Had Edward figured out what I was and sent his brother? No, that couldn't have been a possibility. Something was not right with this situation…He was too fast, too strong. Jasper Cullen was no more human than I was.

I could feel the heat rise in my body as my skin began to glow like the moon. My eyes looked into his yellow tinted eyes pleadingly. Here I was, half conscious in my purest most natural form in front of my killer. Jasper took a step back as my body began to glow and let out a low monstrous growl that left me whimpering. I didn't dare move at this point, he was too fast for me and I knew it.

"Your kind cannot be left to live" he said in a cold, emotionless tone.

"_Scream_." I whispered with as much emotion as I could muster.

I opened that door that I kept locked day in and day out. That door made sure that everything bizarre would not gravitate toward me, it kept the magic out and made sure I remained appearing human day in and day out. Whatever this energy was, it seemed to be a magnet for strange occurrences; the exact kind of situations I so desperately wanted to avoid.

Jasper noticed a change in me and chose not to give me any time to react; he was in front of me. There was no movement; he was simply there. He grabbed my arm and yanked it into a position where it didn't belong. I heard a loud pop followed by a rush of pain in my shoulder that felt something between fire and aching. The anguish continued and multiplied until there was nothing else but the pain. I had a single moment to use this pain, to take advantage of the fact that Jasper looked straight into my very inhuman eyes ; a calculating expression that seemed to be hiding something more.

_Pain_.

I thought of not only the physical pain that was consuming me, but the emotional and psychological darkness that plagued me day after day. Everything that created me into this reclusive and paranoid person was concentrated into a deep single thought of misery. I willed these horrors onto Jasper, my skin reached a point beyond luminescent, it was pure shine radiating through my being as I felt the energy collide between the two of us. My horrors transferred onto him; I forced Jasper to see, experience, and relive every physical and emotional horror of his life.

Jasper screamed in a pitch that I couldn't fully comprehend. He fell to his knees in confusion and clasped both of his hands tightly against his skull as if that would do anything. His body contortioned and thrashed against the floor, his fists creating gaping holes in the hardwood floor as he flung them downward. My own pain was beginning to subside into a dull roar, the adrenaline was gathering in my veins; I was going into shock. Jasper looked at me with crazed eyes, the magic still running loosely through him, and began to stalk toward me like a predator; and I was the prey.

The fear had left me and was replaced by acceptance. I sat there with broken wood surrounding my near-lifeless body ready for my death until I saw Edward…

Much to my benefit – my assumption was wrong. Everything was a blur as I watched what I thought to be Edward collide into Jasper. I heard growls and an array of sounds coming from their direction but everything was a daze. I wasn't able to hold it in anymore, I was tired of fighting, and at that moment I didn't mind dying right there and then.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to slip into the darkness.


End file.
